It’s no secret to anyone that the relationship between sports and gaming is under a huge amount of scrutiny across various markets. To ensure this relationship can stay in place, partnerships will likely see social responsibility play a deeper role.
This is certainly the case for Allwyn International, Europe’s largest lottery conglomerate with an active presence in the UK, Czech Republic, Austria, Greece and growing profile in North America. The group continues to extend its lottery operations, whilst expanding into new verticals of iGaming and sports betting.
Source: Hoch Zwei Photography
Robert Chvatal, Allwyn Group CEO, tells SBC news that he believes socially responsible sports partnerships will define the future of the gaming sector’s commercial relationships with its sporting counterparts.
“We are not there just to fix brand awareness and try to profile ourselves with the very prestigious and visible events. We also want to do something that is impactful. I believe that this is the future.”
The remarks come ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix this weekend, with Allwyn being both a commercial partner of Formula One as a whole as well as with McLaren, one of the series’ most widely followed teams – and one which is enjoying some on-track success at the moment.
Going beyond cutthroat competition
Allwyn is trying to take its partnership with F1 to another level, however, by introducing a CSR element. This weekend will see the company unveil its Allwyn Global Community Award, a CSR initiative announced during the Austrian Grand Prix and which will award a €100,000 grant to a chosen community project.
The marketing value of sports is no secret to people in the gaming industry, whether in lotteries, sportsbooks or casinos. The value of F1, which has enjoyed soaring global audiences over the recent years as a result of a high standard of competition as well as the success of drive to survive, has been plain for the company.
This value has translated from marketing into CSR, Allwyn believes. Chavtal shares that the firm sees F1 both as ‘very visible and very impactful’ due to its global reach, adding that “the sheer size and impact and scope of F1 is huge”.
“It’s one of the biggest, if not the biggest, impactful sports series – the World Cup and soccer, and the Olympics, do come close, but this happens every season and across the globe.
“It’s also good that the community impact will benefit from this visibility. It’s not just about cutthroat competition and innovation, it’s about reminding people that some are not less fortunate and we want to celebrate the NGOs and grassroots organisations that are almost the opposite of this. It’s about inclusion and helping others who can’t help themselves.”
The Dutch version of the award this weekend will be the first of four, followed by the Mexican Grand Prix, the US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, and finally the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Juries will evaluate initiatives based on different criteria, with positive local impact being one of the overriding factors.
“The entries are evaluated based on the positive impact to the local area, relevance to the F1 ecosystem, and innovative approach to social, community impact and sustainability, potential to grow and proven success of compelling plans,” Chvatal explains.
There are two overriding conditions attached to these grants. Firstly, as mentioned above, the projects need to be focused on the community in the local area. Secondly, the grant be generally used by the organisation or charity receiving it – the funds must go towards the specific initiative they have been shortlisted for, with two shortlisted for this weekend’s event.
Allwyn’s CEO shared that the company will be closely monitoring developments following the awards to make sure that the goals of the initiative are being achieved in line with conditions attached with the grant.
The end goal is for chosen organisations to work towards and achieve empowerment and inclusion, education, health and wellbeing in local communities, he says.
“We will stay in touch, and there are some concrete conditions that we have set for the winner. It is part of the award being made and given that we will track the progress of how this award is being utilised. We will be able to communicate it through our channels.”
Connecting community to high-performance
Allwyn has cemented itself as one of the key partners of F1, with its branding clearly visible during some of the biggest races in global motorsports. Both the F1 and McLaren partnership are relatively new for Alwyn, having been signed and initiated this year.
According to F1 itself, the series is counting 1.7bn viewers, 96 million social media followers, and 750 million viewers across the current season. This has, naturally, given Allwyn a lot of visibility across many of its core markets, as well as ones where it may want to expand its presence.
McLaren’s on-track performance, having won 11 of the 14 races so far this season, has made the sponsorship even more valuable for Allwyn. Chvatal observed that “it’s great to see them doing well this season, and it’s exciting to see how they will do next season with the rule changes”, referencing the changes to F1 regulations which will be rolled out in 2026.
This does raise the question though as to how Allwyn will balance its partnership with the F1 as a whole against its partnership with McLaren with regards to its new CSR initiative. Some F1-adjacent community initiatives may be closely linked to McLaren, after all, but Allwyn leadership is confident that there is a shared understanding between the different parties.
“I think McLaren understands that this is going beyond the interests of one specific team and it’s more about celebrating F1 and its impact in the locations they race,” says Chvatal.
“It also celebrates and reminds people that we as Alwyn are a company with an obvious strong purpose, almost given to us by the nature of the business because lotteries are associated with good cause funding and non-profit funding.
“This is a reminder through a different and novel way, the F1 partnership, and I can guarantee they will be no favouring anything close to McLaren.”
Hoch Zwei Photography
Allwyn’s leadership stresses that its approach to sports sponsorship will likely always be influenced by a desire to connect with grassroots communities. As grand as its partnership with F1 may be, the firm has no desire for a “sponsorship on the top jersey of Manchester United”.
This grassroots approach can be found in some of the company’s other community engagement initiatives. In the Czech Republic, where the firm operates the country’s National Lottery, it sponsors the Future Frames programme at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
This programme gives young aspiring film directors the chance to learn ‘the tricks of the trade from the best in Hollywood’, Allwyn’s CEO explains. Another notable initiative the firm is involved in is Wings of Life, a charity for people suffering from spinal cord injuries.
Allwyn’s Formula One future
However, Allwyn does still have some involvement in sports betting. Some of its key assets, such as Greece’s OPAP, count sports betting as a significant business division, while it also has a stake in Kaizen Gaming’s Betano sportsbook brand – a major player not only in Greece but also in countries like Brazil.
On top of this, the company is also looking to expand its international reach. The US has become a key target for this, with the firm taking on a more B2B approach when compared to its activity in Europe as a lottery operator, while also hiring the former CEO of Betfred USA to head up its Allwyn Digital division.
“I’m not revealing any secret that what we want to see is a more balanced presence in Europe and America, maybe some other continents as well,” Chvatal says. “Our participation in Betano is a good testament to this, as Betano is probably number one in Brazil in sports betting.”
As the company gets more involved in sports betting – a prospective 51% share in Novibet, while not yet fully closed, will further widen its footprint in this area – it could be assumed that the firm may become more visible in sports.
Chvatal is not convinced of this. While it may engage more with sports betting, the firm’s focus will remain firmly lottery-led, company leadership asserts, with Chvatal noting that this helps retain and further build up its relationship as an operator-of-choice for government-sanctioned lotteries, and more importantly, as a responsible one.
Both this and its ambitions to grow globally will be reflected in its partnership with F1.
Again, the series’ global reach comes in handy here, with the tournament taking place globally, offering Allwyn chances to connect its focus on casual gaming with different communities across various different markets.
“Allwyn is more related to casual gaming like lotteries rather than betting and online casinos,” Chvatal says. “Yes, we are the partner of F1, which is high profile and glamorous, and the following has gone way above some petrolheads.
“The young generation, the balance between men and women, and the ability to create a behind the scenes experience, see the strategy and innovation, has made it become so popular and global.
“And because it has become so high profile, it can be well used and channelled into initiatives like the Community Award.”
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